A historic moment. May 6, 1994 marked an important turning point in relations between France and the United Kingdom. After eight years of colossal construction, mobilizing up to 12,000 French and English engineers, workers and technicians, the Channel Tunnel was inaugurated, with great fanfare, under the moved eyes of Elizabeth II and François Mitterrand, shortly before 1 p.m. That day, the late queen and the former President of the French Republic met at the Coquelles terminal, in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, where they had come by train each on their own. One coming from France, with his wife, Danielle and the French delegation, and the other arriving from London, accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip. A strong moment since their respective trains arrive at the same time to face each other in a moving synchronicity.
Under a light rain, François Mitterrand waits for Elizabeth II who wears an elegant suit with an elegant matching hat. When they greet each other, the handshake is historic, sealing a physical and economic link between the United Kingdom and the European continent. Together, they cut the symbolic tricolor ribbon, thus sealing the opening of a new chapter for the Franco-British alliance.
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Channel Tunnel: a symbol of union between France and England
On both sides of the Channel, we celebrate this titanic feat which makes it possible to connect Paris and London in just 2 hours 15 minutes. A symbol of cooperation between the two countries, but also of progress. “When Britain and France agree to work together and pool their natural and human resources, they achieve great things”, declares François Mitterrand in a poignant speech, emphasizing that “this achievement is a major asset for the strengthening of the European Union”. Before adding: “The tunnel is a definitive link between Britain and the Continent.”It is then up to the queen to speak. “The tunnel proclaims this simple truth: let us continue today to make common cause for the benefit of all humanity”, she assures in perfect French. “The French people and the British people, as different as they are, from one region to another and from one person to another, and despite their age-old rivalry, complement each other well, no doubt better than they do. does not appear so at first sight”then points out the sovereign.
After this first ceremony, a second took place in the afternoon on the other side of the Channel, at the Cheriton terminal, near Folkestone, where François Mitterrand and Elizabeth II went using the tunnel in a shuttle, aboard the royal white Rolls. This historic day ended at nightfall with a fireworks display on the French side. For Oxford professor Theodore Zeldin, interviewed in the edition of Figaro of May 6, 1994, “the tunnel is an opportunity for reunions. It’s only a beginning. Everything has to be done. And it’s exciting”. A moment that remains engraved in memories.
Photo credits: GETTY – Photo Archive / Intermittent
